MLB Home Run Derby 2023: Who’s in it? What’s the format? Everything you need to know
The 2023 Home Run Derby kicks off in Seattle’s T-Mobile Park on July 10.
Since 1985, many of Major League Baseball’s most prolific power hitters have gathered to showcase their talent during the annual event, and this year is no different … in most ways.
In the derby’s 38-year history, the talent stayed superior while the rules have changed. Let’s review:
2023 contestants
The first-round matchups are set, with seeds determined by each player’s season home run total through July 4. Since Luis Robert Jr. and Pete Alonso both hit 25 home runs so far in 2023, the slugger with the most homers since June 15 got the edge, with Robert slotting into the No. 1 seed. Here are the first-round matchups:
No. 1 Luis Robert Jr. (White Sox) vs. No. 8 Adley Rutschman (Orioles)
No. 2 Pete Alonso (Mets) vs. No. 7 Julio Rodríguez (Mariners)
No. 3 Mookie Betts (Dodgers) vs. No. 6 Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (Blue Jays)
No. 4 Adolis García (Rangers) vs. No. 5 Randy Arozarena (Rays)
Advertisement
Robert, at the time the seeds were set, had a season-long home run of 450 feet (July 4 vs. Blue Jays) and a hardest home run hit of 113.6 mph (May 14 vs. Astros). Rutschman’s longest home run (424 feet) came against the Angels on May 18 and his hardest-hit home run (111.1 mph) came against the Rays on May 9.
Alonso nailed a 448-yard home run (June 6 vs. Braves) and tops the contestant pool with a 113.7 mph homer against the Astros on June 21. Rodríguez hit the longest home run of the derby contestants when he slammed a 454-footer against the Astros on May 7.
How it works
Eight of MLB’s best long-ball hitters will compete in three single-elimination rounds that run on a bracket system.
Batters have three minutes to hit in the first and second rounds. They have two minutes in the final round. In each bracket, the higher seed hits second.
The rounds start with the release of the first pitch and end when the clock strikes zero. As long as a pitch is released before time runs out, a home run will count.
Hitters are granted one timeout per regulation round. Each timeout lasts 45 seconds.
At the end of regulation rounds, players will be granted 30 seconds of bonus time at the end of each period. They can earn an additional 30 seconds — totaling 60 seconds of total bonus time — if they’ve hit at least two home runs that equal or exceed 440 feet in the regulation period. No timeouts are allowed in any bonus time.
What happens if there’s a tie?
Great question, because, while rare, ties happen.
If the batters are tied, they go into a one-minute at-bat to hit as many home runs as possible, with no timeouts allowed or additional time added. If they’re still tied after the minute, they go into a swing-off. During the swing-off, each hitter gets three swings, ending when the tie is broken.
The derby saw a historic tiebreaker in 2019 when Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Joc Pederson faced off in a swing-off for the ages. Guerrero and Pederson each hit eight homers in the first tiebreaker round, then one apiece in the first three-swing swing-off. In the third tiebreaker, Guerrero hit two long balls and Pederson came up just short at one.
Advertisement
In 2021, Juan Soto and Shohei Ohtani went to a swing-off in the first round. They were tied with 22 home runs each, then hit six more apiece in the first tiebreaker. In the swing-off, Soto hit home runs on all three of his swings, while Ohtani hit a line drive to right field on his first swing, ending the contest.
Who pitches?
Put simply, anyone who can throw the ball over the plate is allowed to pitch. Each Home Run Derby slugger gets to choose who pitches to them, so each batter is pitched to by a different person.
In last year’s derby, Texas Rangers shortstop Corey Seager was pitched to by his father Jeff. New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso chose Dave Jauss, who currently serves as an adviser on the Washington Nationals. Soto, the 2022 derby winner, had his offseason hitting coach, Jorge Mejia, throw to him.
Picking a pitcher is a pivotal player decision in the derby. The two have to be in sync and the pitches have to be slow, rhythmic and, well, perfectly placed.
Evolution of the derby format
The summer slugfest was inspired by a 1960s TV show called “Home Run Derby,” in which MLB players faced off against each other to hit the most home runs for a cash prize.
In what was essentially the combination of a game show and high-stakes batting practice, the first episode pitted Willie Mays against Mickey Mantle, who came from behind to win $2,000. The show only aired for one season, but set the blueprint for what was to come.
The derby as an MLB event debuted in 1985, and until 1990, it was structured as a two-inning event and each slugger got five outs per inning. That changed in 1991 when the format shifted to include three rounds, with each player receiving 10 outs per round to hit as many home runs as possible.
Outs were replaced with a clock in 2015, speeding up the contest and incentivizing players to swing more. The new rules gave each batter five minutes of slug time, starting with the release of the first pitch. In the last minute, the timer stopped on a home run and did not start again until the batter swung and didn’t hit a home run. In theory, these rules allowed for unlimited homers. Also in 2015, players could earn an extra minute for every two homers over 420 feet. If they hit one home run over 475 feet, the batter got an extra 30 seconds. Players could earn both, but only up to a maximum of 90 seconds.
Advertisement
One rule from 2015 that stuck was one timeout per round, lasting 45 seconds.
The new rules established in 2015 also allowed for a 90-second swing-off to determine a tiebreaker, as opposed to today’s 60-second swing-off, which was modified in 2019.
Also in 2019? The million-dollar prize was introduced.
In 2021, the time limit was reduced to three minutes in regulation and two minutes in the finals. If batters launched two balls over 440 feet, they’d earn 30 seconds of bonus time. They could earn one minute of extra time if they hit one ball over 475 feet.
The 2022 derby was a repeat of 2021’s rules, and this year is no different.
Record-setting performances
Guerrero Jr. holds the record for most home runs hit in a single round with 40 and Pederson follows with 39 — both during the 2019 Derby semifinals at Progressive Field in Cleveland. Two years later, Alonso took third place, hitting 35 homers in the first round at Coors Field in Denver. Alonso’s record is also the most home runs hit in a single round that did not result in a swing-off.
Alonso (2019, 2021) is also the most recent of four players to have won multiple Home Run Derbys.
In 2022, Seattle Mariners outfielder Julio Rodríguez hit 32 home runs in the first round, the most by any rookie in the history of the derby. His performance ranks fourth in the all-time single-round number of homers.
Soto became the second-youngest winner in derby history when he took home the 2022 title at 23 years, 266 days old. He was just one day older than Juan González was when he won it in 1993.
How to watch
The Home Run Derby airs on ESPN at 8 p.m. ET.
(Photos: Getty Images; iStock / Design: Eamonn Dalton and Rachel Orr)
